PTA General Body Meeting 11162016 -...

PTAGeneralBodyMeetingMinutesWednesday,November16,2016

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PTAPresident,DebraOlson,calledthemeetingtoorderat6:00p.m.onNovember16th,2016.

President’sUpdate:DebraOlson• FallMembershipDrive

o PresidentOlsonandSecretaryGardnerprovidedanupdateontheFallMembershipDrive:60%offamilieshavejoinedtodate,withthePK4,PK3,andtheK/1“DiscoDolphins”classesinthe leadfor100%participation.Anannouncementwillbemadewhenthefirstclasswinsanextra recessorfreedressday.PrincipalSearlandPresidentOlsondiscussedwhatthePTAfundsare usedfor,below,andencouragedanyonewithquestionstogetintouch.

• BudgetInformationo PresidentOlsonexplainedthattheRossPTAraisesfundsfortwopurposes:(1)tosupport

PrincipalSearlandtheRossteachersandstaffinprovidingatop-qualityeducationtoour studentsand(2)planningcommunitybuildingeventsforRossstudentsandtheirfamilies.For example,PresidentOlsoncontinued,thePTAbuysallschoolsuppliessothatPrincipalSearlcan maximizetheDCPSbudgetonsalariesfortheexcellentRossteachersandstaff,whichincludes educationalaidesinKindergarten,1st,2nd,and3rdgrades,positionsnotfundedbyDCPS.The PTA’sfundraisingthroughtheFallMembershipDrive,TreeSale,Mother’s&Father’sDayBook Drive,&AnnualAuctionalsosupportstechnologyfortheclassrooms,wonderfulenrichments andpartnerships,PTAexpenses,fieldtrips,buildingmaintenance,& staffdevelopment.

o TreasurerGreensharedthatwehave$60KinthebankthatwillgetusthroughtotheSpring and thattherewillbeaStateoftheBudgetpresentationinJanuary.

o PresidentOlsonalsosharedthattheMother’s&Father’sDayBookDriveallowedustoadd nearly500newbooksforourlibrary.

• FillmoreUpdateo PresidentOlsonassuredparentsthatRosswillhaveanartsprogramafterthisyearandshared

informationfromameetingheldwithChiefofTeachingandLearningforDCPS,BrianPick,who agreedwithourassessmentthatthereis notenoughspaceatRossforadiverseartsprogram and willletusknowthesolutionbyDecember1st.

• TreeSale–Co-ChairsJohnSpears,AndyLee,DominicSaleo TreeSaleCo-Chairssharedthatroughly$10Kwasraisedlastyearfromourhigh-qualityFrasier fir

treesandtheyarelookingforfamiliestohelpmakethisanothersuccessfulfundraiserfor the PTA.Theyaskedthatwe1).purchaseatree(ordonateatreetoafamilyinneed);2). volunteer foroneormorespotstosellordelivertrees;&3).helpmarketoureventandspread theword toyournetworks.

o Itwasnotedthat“SuperSaturday”,Saturday,December3rd,willbeafundayatRosswiththe GingerbreadHouseWorkshop,BakeSale,andcardmakingforveteransattheDCSoldiers Home toaccompanythetreesale.

PTAGeneralBodyMeetingMinutesWednesday,November16,2016

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EurekaMathInformationSessionRecap:• MathCoach,MeghanPazmino,3rdGradeTeacher,JillianAtlas,andKellyGruse,2ndGradeTeacher

presentedontheNationalCouncilofTeachersofMathematicsconferencetheyattendedinPhiladelphia.Pleaseseeattachedslides.

SocialJusticeCommitteeUpdate:MiwaKamras• Lower-SchoolRep.MiwaKamras,sharedinformationabouttheSocialJustice/CommunityService

Committee’sNovembermeetingandhowtheschool’ssocialjustice-focusedcurriculumcloselymirrorsthecommittee’sprioritiestoprovidemeaningfulopportunitiesforRossstudentsandfamiliestoengageinsocialjusticeandcommunityserviceworkthatenablesstudentstounderstandinequityandtheroletheycanplayinaddressingit.

UpcomingEvents

o Thursday,November17,2016at8:15am:ParentCoffeewithSWW@FS’PrincipalTrogischo Tuesday,November22at8:15a.m.:ParentCoffee:Mindfulness,Part2o Thursday,November24,2016-Friday,November25,2016:ThanksgivingHolidayo Friday,December2,Saturday,December3,Sunday,December4,&Saturday,December10,

2016:AnnualRossHolidayTreeSaleo December5th,2016:SocialJustice/CommunityServiceMeetingat8:45a.m.o December10,2016:EdFESTatD.C.Armory(2001EastCapitolStSE)o December12,2016:MySchoolDCLotteryOpenso December22,2016–January2,2017:WinterBreak

Meetingadjournedat7:00p.m. ThenextPTAGeneralBodyMeetingisscheduledforWednesday,January18th,2017

MEETINGMINUTESRESPECTFULLYSUBMITTEDBYKATEGARDNER,SECRETARY

NCTM Conference 2016

Attendees: Meghan Pazmino (Math Coach), Kelly Gruse(2nd Grade), Jillian Atlas (3rd Grade)

First we’d like to thank you...for “empowering us to be even more!”

- Supporting staff growth- Treating us as professionals - Giving us the very best

professional development so that we can deliver the best instruction to your children!

Why Common Core?

65 & 2029Why are these numbers important to our nation?

2029 Kindergarten Graduates

In the year 2029, our current kindergarteners will graduate from high school

65% In the year 2029, 65% of the jobs that our children will be applying for do not exist today.

Raise your hand if in elementary school wrote as your hope and dream, “When I grow up, I want to be a mobile app designer.”

We are preparing our students for jobs and careers that do not exist...yet.

There are 125 sheep and 5 dogs in a flock.

How old is the shepherd?

Don’t worry, this isn’t a “common core” question. :)

A researcher in 1986 found that 3 out of 4 students will give a numerical answer to this question.

Solve:

12

14

x =

Now write a story using these numbers:

12

14

x =

How can we prepare our children for the unknown? By teaching them life skills that apply to today and to tomorrow- Adaptive reasoning- Strategic Competence- Conceptual understanding- Procedural Fluency- Productive disposition- Critical thinking

The (SMP’s) Standards For Mathematical Practice (there are 8 of them)

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively

3. Construct Viable Arguments and Critique the REasoning of others

4. Model with Mathematics

5. Use appropriate tools strategically6. Attend to precision 7. Look for and make use of structure8. Look for patterns (repeated reasoning)

What did Mrs. Atlas get out of two days in Philly surrounded by our nation’s mathematical intellectuals?

1. Why we teach mathematics in the way we teach it2. How to empower our students to become more

independent3. The importance of relational thinking - connecting

mathematics to any and all parts of life

The (SMP’s) Standards For Mathematical Practice (there are 8 of them)

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them

7. Look for and make use of structure

SMP #1: Make sense of problems

and Persevere in solving them

Presenter: David Ginsburg

Empower students to understand the

scenario

Empower Students to Make sense of the

problemHow?

In class: Application Problem

At home: Last problem on the Homework (usually the trickiest word problem)

Making sense of the problem: Get rid of the numbers!

What teachers do

● Provide meaningful, well developed application problem

● Take out the numbers of the problem

● Take away the question of the problem to simply provide the scenario and take the focus off of problem solving

What parents can do

Ask students to “make a movie in their mind” of what the scenario is describing (using reading skills)

- Visualized the problem- Drawn it out- Listed what they know

What students gain/learn: Making sense of the problem will help them understand the relationship between the numbers and the scenario (no more number grabbing)

SMP #1: Make sense of problems

and Persevere in solving them

Presenter: David Ginsburg

Empower students to find their own

point of entry

The Productive Struggle - Doing more by doing lessWhat teachers do

● Provide meaningful, well developed application problem, allow students to dig in and find a point of entry

● Allow other students to ask questions to help get students on track

● Find out the misconception and start asking questions prior to that step

What parents can do

Help students find a point of entry only after they’ve done the following:

- Visualized the problem- Drawn it out- Listed what they know- Identified the unknown (what

they’re solving for).

What students gain/learn: Perseverance, struggle is OK, focus on a point of entry

Empower Students to Persevere

How?

In class: Application Problem

At home: Last problem on the homework

SMP #7: Look for and make use

of structurePresenter: The John Oliver

of Mathematics...

The Pain & Relief

of Mathematics

If we never felt the pain of a headache, would we ever take the aspirin? ● Engineers and high school

students were asked, “What would life be like without algorithms?”

● The answers for the engineers were along the lines of, “Catastrophic! A headache, at best!”

● High schoolers replied along the lines of, “Life would be so much easier/sweet relief!”

● Algorithms serve a purpose - to make life easier for us humans on a day to day basis!

How much money is in this jar?

How much money Is it?

How much money Is it?

How much money Is it?

Structure = A Mathematician’s

Best FriendPractical use of structure

in mathematics

The Beauty of Mathematics

Presenter: Monica Neagoy

Learn about our world with a sense of wonder, look for structures that are beautiful in the world

around us.

SMP #7: Look for and make use of structure

How do we incorporate the beauty and wonder of mathematics into our instruction?

What teachers do

● Provide engaging STEM projects throughout the year where students see the power of mathematics (Chevron Grant)

● Invite students to share about how math touches their lives (Responsive Classroom)

● Field trips of art, music, culture (Kennedy Center, Fillmore, after school activities)

What parents can do

● Take students into nature, let them experience art, music, culture

● Invite students to notice mathematics in everyday life that may seem more extraordinary

What students gain/learn:

● Students build relational thinking which is proven to deepen conceptual understanding

From tesselations in the tiles of morocco & M.C. Escher

To the beauty of fractions in the music we enjoy

What did Ms. Gruse get out of two days in Philly surrounded by our nation’s mathematical intellectuals?

1. Why we teach mathematics in the way we teach it2. How to empower our students to become more

independent3. The importance of relational thinking - connecting

mathematics to any and all parts of life

The Effective Use of Manipulatives in

Mathematics

Concrete-Representational- Abstract (CRA)Instructional

Approach

CRA is an instructional approach for mathematics that research suggests can enhance the performance of students. It is a three-part instructional strategy, with each part building on the previous instruction to promote student learning and retention and to address conceptual knowledge.

concrete, representation, and abstract:Let’s Try to solve 115 + 36 using the three stages

Concrete - The teacher begins instruction by modeling each mathematical concept with concrete materials (e.g., red and yellow chips, cubes, base-ten blocks, pattern blocks, fraction bars, and geometric figures). The students then use the same materials to solve problems

concrete, representation, and abstract:Representational - In this stage, the teacher transforms the concrete model into a representational (semiconcrete) level, which may involve drawing pictures; using circles, dots, and tallies; or using stamps to imprint pictures for counting.

concrete, representation, and abstract:Abstract - At this stage, the teacher models the mathematics concept at a symbolic level, using only numbers, notation, and mathematical symbols to represent the number of circles or groups of circles. The teacher uses operation symbols (+, –, ) to indicate addition, multiplication, or division.

Why is this the Best Approach?Research-based studies show that students who begin with concrete materials:

● develop more precise and more comprehensive mental representations

● often show more motivation and on-task behavior● understand mathematical ideas● better apply these ideas to life situations

What can You Do At Home?

1. Encourage your child to use the concrete and/or representational models until they have a deep understanding of the mathematical concept

2. If you notice them making mistakes while doing the abstract model, encourage them to draw a representation. This often forces them to identify their mistake.

What did Ms. Pazmino get out of two days in Philly surrounded by our nation’s mathematical intellectuals?

1. Purposeful design of adult professional learning.2. Studying and reflecting on our teaching to improve

student learning.3. Practical ways to make math come alive for

students.

Purposeful Adult Professional

Learning

It takes 30-100 hours of sustained professional

learning over 6-12 months to see meaningful change.

● Feed the hungry, not the full.

● If you can anticipate a problem, you should have a plan to solve it.

● Navigate relationships!● Use our strengths to

leverage our challenges

Studying and reflecting on our

practice

Everyone improves when teachers observe other

teachers in action and can debrief about the lesson.

● Not asking anyone to be perfect, just to get better.

● Treat teachers like professionals

● The words we choose--about students and adults--are important

Practical ways to make math come

alive for students

Math is all around us. Part of our job as adults is to help students discover the beauty of math in our lives.

● Literature connections● The power of games to

reach all students● Low floor, high ceiling

problems●

What can you expect next?

I am always available to talk about math!

● Our 2nd Annual Math Night is already on the calendar!

● Math Coffees for each grade level at the start of each advisory.

● A math/tech newsletter--coming soon!

● Crazy 8s Math Club winter enrichment program (grades 3-5)